Hillegom – Village with a rich history

The most northern community of the Dune and Bulb Region.

Hillegom is a village with more than 21,000 inhabitants. Unlike some other villages in the Bulb Region, around Hillegom only a little amount of bulb fields have been lost at the expense of residential construction. The name Hillegom is derived from Hilleghem, mentioned in old archives. Heem stands for a place of residence and it is likely that Hille is a bastardization of a personal name like Hildegard or Hildebert. The meaning would then be House of Hille. The village originated in the early Middle Ages around the Maartenskerk (Maartsen’s Church), the Houttuin and the Court of Hillegom (Hof van Hillegom).

The people from Hillegom (Hillegommers) initially engaged in agriculture and livestock farming. In the 17th and 18th centuries, vegetables, fruit and herbs began to be cultivated and daily barges moved to the markets in Leiden and Amsterdam. During this time, also beautiful outside places (buitenplaatsen) were founded in Hillegom. Unfortunately, these have been in decay over time and eventually demolished. From the middle of the 19th century, flower bulb cultivation has brought a lot of prosperity. The beautiful flower fields around Hillegom and the annual flower parade (bloemencorso) bring many tourists to the village.

In the early years of Dutch television, many recordings were made of shows and performances in the big hall of Treslong. In 1964, The Beatles performed a playback TV show for the VARA. In 2005 the complex was demolished and the new residential area 'De Marel' was built on site.